Fire at Vista group home displaces eight residents

VISTA — 

Fire officials believe a resident smoking in bed may have accidentally started a fire in a group home in Vista on Friday night, a fire official said Sunday.

The fire at the home on Civic Center Drive near Eucalyptus Avenue caused $300,000 in damage and displaced eight residents, Vista fire Chief Ned Vander Pol said.

Multiple 911 callers reported the fire about 8:20 p.m. When firefighters arrived, they found flames and smoke pouring out of the front of the home, Vander Pol said.

The chief said smoke detectors had alerted residents to the fire, and no one was injured. One resident was taken to a hospital for treatment of a previously diagnosed medical condition that was not tied to the fire.

Fire crews contained the fire the front of the home in about 20 minutes, Vander Pol said.

The chief said investigators believe the fire started after a resident who had been reportedly smoking in bed discarded some type of smoking material.

Source: This post first appeared on sandiegouniontribune.com